Elixir
by Cat2000
Summary: Sam has a vision that includes Dean dying. While investigating and trying to stop the vision from coming true, Sam and Dean hear rumours about an elixir which is able to bring the dead back to life.
1. Chapter 1

**Elixir**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. The plot of this fic probably belongs to me as well. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I probably don't own

**Summary:** Sam has a vision that includes Dean dying. While investigating and trying to stop the vision from coming true, Sam and Dean hear rumours about an elixir which is able to bring the dead back to life. But something else is after the elixir as well… and Dean is beginning to remember some very strange things…

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; mentions/implications of torture; some swearing; spoilers up to at least season one and episode eight of season two of Supernatural

**Author's Note:** This is the sequel to Coma – although there is quite a lot of time between that and this. This actually takes place after episode eight of Supernatural (so it's an automatic AU for any episode following that). You don't _have_ to read Coma to understand what's going on here – but it would probably help.

And I will do work on my other series soon – promise.

Enjoy!

* * *

"_Hey… Think you can take care of Brownie for me?"_

_A black-haired young woman lifted her head from the sandwiches she was making, and pushed some strands out of her face. "Sure… But, uh, where are you going?"_

_Amber shrugged, setting the Springer spaniel down on the floor. "I'm thinking I might go swimming in the sea. It's supposed to be really good weather today. Besides, with the amount of coursework we've been getting – who knows _when_ I'll be able to go to the beach again?" She grabbed a set of keys off one of the hooks._

"_What about that guy who drowned?" Jody asked, frowning slightly even as she gently petted the dog._

_Amber shrugged again. "They never found his body, did they? Besides… I know how to be safe when swimming in the sea. Nothing will happen." She tossed the keys up into the air, and caught them before they could hit the floor. "Spoken to your friend lately? You seem to be quite into him."_

_Jody narrowed her eyes slightly. "If you mean Sam – well, there hasn't been any need to speak to him. I sent him an e-mail asking how he's been about a week ago – I guess he hasn't looked at his e-mails yet. Or he just doesn't want to talk to me at all."_

"_Pity." Amber turned and walked out of the kitchen. "Take care of my dog," she tossed back over her shoulder. "He needs a walk soon." She then headed out into the hallway, and out the front door, humming under her breath. She unlocked the door of a silver car, and got in the driver's seat. For a brief moment, she placed a finger against her throat, where she'd felt the pain which had caused her to panic._

_Shaking her head slightly, Amber turned the ignition on, and put the car into gear. Her bag, containing a towel among other items, had already been flung onto the seat next to her, and Amber wore her bikini under her clothes._

_Amber edged the car out of the driveway. Unbeknownst to her, malevolent red eyes watched her every movement from afar…_

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"_Well, the good thing is, a shapeshifter can't be killed by regular bullets," Dean was saying as he leaned lightly against the wall of the passageway. "You know, kind of like that water test to see if people were witches? Only this time, someone's innocent if the bullet does damage… If they're not affected, they're a shapeshifter."_

_Sam shook his head in disbelief. "What are you suggesting, Dean?" he demanded. "That we _kill_ an innocent person?!"_

"_I'm not suggesting that we shoot to kill," Dean protested. "Just in their arm or something. You know, someplace we're less likely to hit anything vital. They'll thank us for it once they're safe from the shapeshifter."_

"_We don't even _know_ that there really is a shapeshifter… Dean, I think you're beginning to go mad."_

_Dean shrugged. "It was bound to happen sooner or later." He smirked, then continued, "We should get going…"_

_A bang echoed loudly in the passageway. Sam jumped and turned in the direction of the sound. He glimpsed long red hair, and a delicate figure that had a gun aimed in front of her, the barrel pointed at Dean._

_Sam turned round in time to see his older brother slowly collapse, blood soaking through the material of his shirt._

* * *

Sam jerked awake with a gasp, looking around wildly. It took him a few moments to realise that he was in the car – and that Dean was driving along next to him, not lying on a stone floor with a bullet in his chest.

Dean glanced towards his brother and raised his eyebrows. "Another nightmare, Sammy? I thought those were getting better."

Sam shook his head. "It wasn't a nightmare." He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to force away the image in his mind of Dean being shot and dying. "I think it was a vision… I _know_ it was a vision," he corrected himself. "Pull the car over." He couldn't take the chance of the vision coming true.

"What, you mean _without_ the blinding headaches? You must be getting better." As Sam stared at him, Dean sighed and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "You look pale… You really need more sleep than this."

Sam just stared out of the window, seeing Dean's point of view. However, he could hardly sleep with this whole psychic thing going on. _I suppose dreams are better than the blinding headaches, though…_ Sam's visions had never dealt with members of his family, though – and a disturbing proportion of the visions had come through. Statistically…

_I don't give a _damn_ about statistics,_ Sam thought. _Dean isn't going to die. Not if I can help it._

Dean parked the car and looked at Sam. "So… Who's being threatened this time?" he asked. "Where are you dragging us off to _now_?"

Sam opened his mouth, but then closed it again, hesitating. _My psychic abilities freak Dean out… How's he gonna react when I tell him that I saw him getting _killed_? By someone who has no reason to hate him, no less._ The obvious answer to _that_ was not to mention the victim in the second part of the vision at all.

_Yeah, like he's _really_ gonna buy that._ "We have to go to Stanford," Sam said. _Amber was doing a teaching course at the university… That would probably be the likeliest place to look for her. Hopefully, it won't be _that_ difficult to find where she's likely to be staying…_

Dean raised his eyebrows and waited, saying nothing.

Sam blinked. "What?"

"You're not going to give me any more details? You know, like who gets killed – or hurt – and where? You're not giving me much to go on, Sam."

"Well… Jody and Amber were in it." Sam knew that he was going to have to tell Dean what the vision entailed sooner or later – but Dean was already so damaged by their father's death and the conversation with the demon… Sam needed his brother, but he felt that Dean was slipping further and further away from him.

Dean studied Sam's face for a moment and then turned away, hitting the steering wheel with some force. "It's about me, isn't it?"

Sam glanced at Dean and then away again, unable to find the words to deny his brother's question. He hunched into himself a little. _If I tell Dean, it might just be the thing to push him over the edge. He's falling deeper and deeper into this despairing pit, and I have no idea how to help him. Besides, this would bring up the time when I was possessed by Doctor Ellicott and shot him…_ Sam nearly jumped when he felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder.

"Hey, Sam," Dean said softly. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm strong enough to handle it. Honestly."

For just one moment, Sam could see a glimpse of the old Dean – the protective older brother – come through. His breath caught in his throat as he realised just how much he had missed _that_ Dean. He still wasn't sure about it – but it _would_ be kind of a relief to talk about it to Dean. Maybe he'd be able to handle the information…

"You got shot," Sam admitted finally, glancing away. "One moment, you were talking about a shapeshifter; the next… a gun was fired, and you were… shot." He couldn't help trembling a little. _We already lost dad… I _can't_ lose Dean as well!_ He wouldn't be able to handle another loss.

"Hey, nothing's gonna happen to me." Dean squeezed his brother's shoulder lightly before letting go. "You've been forewarned, anyway. We'll be able to stop this from happening. Now… who shot me?"

"Amber." Seeing the blank look on Dean's face, Sam continued, "When we were at Roosevelt Asylum. You didn't actually meet her – she left right before you woke up. Her sister was also a ghost." _Of course, she also seemed to be sharing experiences with her 'twin' in the parallel world,_ he thought.

"Why would someone I've never even met want to shoot me?" Dean frowned. "That it's a woman is even stranger. She isn't a demon, is she?"

"Not as far as I know," Sam replied. _There was nothing demon-like about her that I could see at all…_

"All right." Dean sighed and turned the ignition on. Then, he put the car into gear and pulled out into the road. "To Stanford it is, then. Think you'll get to see that cute friend of yours? Jody, right?"

Sam shrugged, staring out of the window again. "Well, she _was_ staying in the same place as Amber…" He couldn't help feeling relieved that Dean was aware of what had happened in the vision.

_I want my big brother back… Maybe _this_ will make him see how he needs to be…_ Wishful thinking, perhaps.

But that was the only kind of thinking left to Sam right now.

* * *

"So you're saying that Jody Rider and Amber Williams are in some kind of trouble?" the administrator asked, looking up from the desk she was sitting at. "Who did you say you were again?"

"Detective Polo," Dean answered, flashing the identification badge. "And I wouldn't say they are in trouble, exactly. My partner and I need them to help us with our enquiries." After talking about it, Dean and Sam had agreed that only Dean could speak to the woman, as there was always the possibility that she could recognise Sam.

The woman considered that for a moment, and then smiled, her teeth flashing white against her dark skin. "You will of course let me know if you find out anything, right?" she asked. "If these two women are dangerous, then I'm going to have to let the students on campus know. For their own protection, of course."

_Of course,_ Dean thought. He'd met people like this woman before, who were eager to get any gossip they could. He gave the woman a smile, and said out loud, "If there's any information you might need, then we'll let you know. Now… about this address," he continued, leaning forward slightly with his hands on the desk.

"Of course." The woman stood up and walked over to the filing cabinet. As she pulled open one of the drawers and started rifling through it as she said, "You know, if you're going to be staying in town for a while, why don't we hook up sometime?"

Dean smiled. "Sure… Why don't you give me your number, and I'll call you?"

* * *

Sam leaned against the car door, waiting a little impatiently for his brother to come out of the building.

_I _knew_ I should have gone inside with him,_ he thought. _He's probably getting into all sorts of trouble._ Sam was fully aware that Dean wasn't recovered from their father's death. He was worried that Dean would push himself too far into the hunt again. _I simply wouldn't be able to handle that again…_

"Hey, Sammy. You gonna stand there daydreaming all day? Anything could sneak up on you."

Sam blinked a few times, and stared at Dean, who was looking rather pleased with himself. "Were you able to find out the address?" he asked, choosing to ignore what Dean had just said. _He's starting to look a little better, at least…_

Dean nodded, and held a slip of paper out to Sam. He grabbed it, and squinted at the writing. "This is a phone number…"

"Oh, right." Dean took the paper back. "That's mine… _This_ is the address." He gave Sam a different piece of paper. "When we get to Jody's house, you'll have to find out why Jody doesn't seem to be answering her phone when she told you to look her up."

"It has been a while…" Sam looked at the address. "That's not too far from the university. We could walk if we wanted to get some exercise."

Dean grimaced slightly at the idea. "No thanks. Walking is my least favourite form of exercise." He shrugged. "If you want to walk, you can. I'll meet you at the house."

"Nah, I'll come with you." Sam got in the passenger side and slammed the door shut.

* * *

Dean parked the Impala just outside the small house, and glanced across Sam at the driveway. "Well… Let's go talk to your girlfriend, all right?" He smirked.

Sam grimaced at his brother, but secretly, he was pleased by the teasing. "She's not my girlfriend." Not giving Dean a chance to reply, Sam opened the door, and got out. He waited for Dean to get out of the Impala as well before he started up the path.

When he got to the front door, Sam banged the knocker, and was unable to help a slight feeling of dread.

_What if something's different about her _now

Sam heard the distant sound of barking coming from inside the house. _The dog Brownie, I assume._ He took a slight step back, and waited.

After a few moments, the door was opened by Jody, the Springer spaniel barking madly at her heels. The woman stared at Sam and Dean for a moment, and then blinked. "Oh… hey," she said. "What are you guys doing here? I haven't heard from you in a while?"

"We've been sort of busy," Sam replied, his tone apologetic.

"Yeah, you know… It's a hard life, being a hunter." Dean raised his eyebrows, and then squinted at the spaniel. "Why is that dog staring at me?"

Sam realised that Brownie had stopped barking, and had turned an almost disconcerting gaze on Dean. After a moment, the Springer spaniel bounded forward and started leaping at Dean, seemingly trying to lick him or something similar.

Jody watched the dog for a moment, and then looked at Sam. "Do you want to come inside?" she asked. "I assume you're here about some kind of hunt?" Her voice went quiet on the last word.

Sam nodded, and then glanced at Dean. "I thought you didn't like dogs."

"I don't." Dean looked at Jody, who had turned to head back into the house. "This your dog?" He pushed the animal down off him.

"No, it's Amber's."

Brownie stopped trying to jump up at Dean, and ran into the house in front of Jody, barking again. Sam glanced at his brother, and then followed the woman into the house, Dean coming behind him and closing the door.

"Can we talk to Amber?" Sam asked. "Is she around?"

"You haven't heard?" Jody shook her head slightly. "No… Of course you haven't." She sighed. "Amber went missing a week ago."

"A week?"

Dean looked at Sam. "Talk about really bad timing for your visions," he commented. "It didn't take us a week to get here, so your psychic abilities must have messed up somewhere."

"Psychic abilities?" Jody repeated, staring at Sam and Dean. "What…?"

"Never mind," Sam said, looking at Dean and then at Jody. "We should probably go and sit down. I need you to tell us exactly what happened."

* * *

The first sense to return to her was taste. There was iron in her mouth – or that was what it seemed like. She opened her eyes, but all she could see was darkness. She tried to lift a hand to rub at her eyes, but something was stopping her from being able to move. She struggled for a moment, but soon realised how ineffective it was.

_What's happening to me? Am I dead?_

Her whole body ached, but her stomach was the worst. It felt like there was a rusty knife scraping inside her, and she couldn't help whimpering softly.

As something touched her bare leg, Amber screamed. She felt a hand resting there – although she still couldn't see anything. Her skin crawled, and she shivered, feeling cold. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and a couple of tears tracked their way down her cheeks.

_Please…_

"I'm sorry about this," a voice said softly in Amber's ear. "There's something about you, though… She talked about you in the other world. Now be a good girl and drink this up…"

Something cold and hard was pressed against Amber's lips, and, as it was tipped up, some liquid poured into her mouth.

Amber started coughing as the liquid seemed to burn the inside of her mouth and down her throat. The pain in her stomach felt worse, and she gasped for breath.

Abruptly, the cup was withdrawn, and Amber felt a hand lightly stroke some hair out of her face. "One more should do it," the voice said softly. "You just stay here, and rest. Well, as much as you can, that is."

Amber felt the lightest of touches against her bare skin again, and then there was the sound of someone walking away.

And then she was left alone in the darkness again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Elixir**

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I probably don't own

**Warning(s):** Descriptions of violence; some swearing; spoilers for the entirety of season one and up to episode eight of season two; mental torture (does that even count as a warning…?)

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic so far – you're all really great, and it's nice to know that people are enjoying this . Please feel free to tell me if you notice any mistakes/anything that could be better, and I'll do my best to change it.

Enjoy!

* * *

"You got any beer?" Dean asked as he took a seat on the couch, watching the Springer spaniel warily. The dog kept on trying to jump up at him, despite the fact that Dean really didn't like dogs.

_Then again… Aren't animals supposed to be able to tell when someone doesn't like them, and play on that?_

Sam glanced at Dean with a frown, and Dean raised his eyebrows. "What? Alcohol's good for the brain." He smirked, and leaned back slightly, trying not to let his mind dwell on the dream Sam had had. _Whatever happens, I'm not gonna die… Sam seems to be worried that something might happen – he oughtta know me better by now._

"Sure," Jody said. She glanced at Sam. "Do you want anything?"

Sam shrugged. "Sure, if you're getting some anyway," he answered. "It might help with what we've got to tell you anyway."

"Given that, when I first met you, my friend had been killed because she got too close to what was going on at the hospital, and my uncle – who was involved – was killed by the ghost of said friend, I think I can handle whatever it is you're going to say." Jody bit her lip slightly, and then looked at the dog. "Come here, Brownie."

The dog barked – as if in acknowledgment – but stayed at Dean's feet. He looked up at the man, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted.

"All right… Stay there if you want to," Jody muttered. "I'll be right back." She then walked out of the living room.

Once she was gone, Dean looked at Sam. "So how do you think she's going to react once you tell her she's shacked up with someone who's gonna kill me?"

Sam shrugged slightly. "Probably not very well," he replied. "I have no idea how she reacted to finding out about the existence of demons – but most people don't handle that knowledge very well, at least not at first."

Dean nodded slowly. He then looked at the dog, who was staring disconcertingly at him. "That dog's really beginning to freak me out… Did Amber have this dog when you first met her?" he asked his brother.

"I wouldn't have thought so…" Sam answered, frowning. "She didn't _mention_ having a dog – it was more like she had a pet ghost."

"A pet ghost," Dean repeated. "Because that's so much better and healthier." He shook his head slightly and sighed. "You know… when that dog jumped up at me, I had the strangest sense of déjà vu. Like that had happened to me before…" He stared at the dog, feeling just a little freaked out.

"I know what déjà vu is." Sam looked at Brownie, and then at Dean. "It's probably nothing – that sort of thing happens all the time."

"Hm…" Dean leaned back against the couch, and put his feet up on the coffee table, making himself at home. "Let's just wait and see what happens." _I'm not planning on trusting _anything_ supernatural right now – with the possible exception of Sam's visions…_ Even then, he didn't know much about the visions, or what caused them.

Only what their dad had told him…

Sam glanced up as Jody came into the room. She passed the brothers a can of beer each, and then sat down, hands clasped around a mug of what was probably tea or coffee. "So… are you gonna tell me what you're here for?"

Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"Don't look at me," Dean said, opening the beer can and drinking some. "You're the one with the visions."

"I don't get it…" Jody frowned, glancing between the brothers. "What visions? Psychics don't _really_ exist… Right?"

"What, you can believe in demons but not in psychics?" Dean asked. "Sammy here's the real deal. Some of his visions have come true, and others, we've been able to prevent from coming true."

"All right…" Jody said slowly. "What's this got to do with Amber?"

"You said that Amber disappeared a week ago," Sam said. "But, see, I had a _vision_ of her. It wasn't of her actually disappearing, but I assume of what happened just before – when she wanted to go swimming."

Jody sighed, looking down a moment. "I did think it was a bad idea," she commented. "If she hadn't gone, she'd still be here and safe…"

"Or she would have just disappeared some other way," Dean replied. "There's no way you could know for sure what might or might not happen."

"Thanks…" Jody said, quietly but sincerely. She then looked at Sam. "So… What do you think the deal with that vision being too late might be?" she asked.

Dean took the opportunity to study Jody's face. While the young woman _seemed_ calm enough, Dean had the feeling that she was just trying to put on a brave face. _Huh… Sam should be careful with this,_ he thought. _It probably won't take a lot to get her to snap…_ He frowned to himself, considering – just for a moment – what the vision Sam had to mean. _If the second part comes true, it means that Amber will have snapped somehow…_

Sam shrugged. "To be honest, I have no clue," he answered. "These visions don't seem to be like e-mails or letters – that can get lost in the post or whatever. They shouldn't _be_ coming to me too late for us to do anything about them." His voice rose slightly as the frustration apparently got to him.

"Hey…" Dean immediately put a hand on his brother's shoulder, doing his best to offer Sam support, to make Sam realise that his brother was there for him.

_I guess I'm not the only one suffering right now… I almost realised this too late. Guess I'm not such a good big brother after all._ At that moment, though, Dean made a silent vow to be a better brother – and to help Sam deal with his pain and grief…

Jody sat in silence, apparently waiting for Sam to be ready to continue. She glanced between the brothers, frowning and biting her lip slightly.

Dean kept his hand on Sam's shoulder, feeling his brother tremble slightly under his touch. "It's all right, Sammy," he said softly. "This isn't your fault." As he said it, he prayed that Sam would believe him, would listen to him. _I hope Sam can still trust me to take care of him – this isn't easy… But I'm going to do my best to help him._ For the first time in a long while, Dean really _looked_ at his brother, and took note of the suffering he was going through.

"Would it help if I left the room…?" Jody asked, a little hesitantly.

Sam took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. "No, it's all right…" he replied. "There was actually more to the visions…" he added.

Dean squeezed his brother's shoulder, and then let go, although he stayed close to Sam's side. He watched Sam closely, ready to step in and help his brother should Sam need it at all. _I want to make up for punching Sammy and taking my pain out on him,_ Dean thought. _I need to start being his big brother again…_

"What do you mean?" Jody asked. "What else was there to the vision?"

Sam glanced at Dean, and then looked back at Jody. "I saw Dean get shot," he explained, looking quite reluctant. "By Amber…"

Jody stared at them both for a moment, her mouth open. "That's impossible," she said finally. "Amber wouldn't do something like that. I _know_ she wouldn't." Her tone was insistent, but it also sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as the brothers.

"Actually, under the right circumstances, it's possible for someone to be made to do _anything_," Sam replied, his voice soft. "As difficult as it is to accept – if we can't stop it from happening, Amber might resort to becoming a murderer."

Jody shook her head. "She _wouldn't_," she repeated. "I know Amber, and I know that she's not a murderer."

"Did you know about your uncle helping to kill all of those people in the hospital?" Dean questioned, not caring that he sounded harsh. _Naivety really gets on my nerves sometimes… I have nothing against innocence – but sometimes people have to let go of their view of the world being filled with sunshine and roses…_

Jody looked stricken, and opened her mouth. However, the doorbell went, and she glanced towards the living room door. "I'll get it…" She straightened up, and then walked out of the room.

Once she was gone, Sam looked at Dean. "Was that really necessary?" he asked.

Dean shrugged. "I just told her the truth," he answered. "And the truth is, you can't fully know someone – no matter how close you are to them."

"What, the only person you can trust is yourself?" Sam shook his head. "That's bullshit, Dean."

"No, the only people you can trust are your family," Dean corrected. "Other people just let you down."

"So does family, sometimes," Sam muttered, turning away.

_Yeah, Sammy…_ Dean couldn't help giving a slight sigh. _You don't have to rub salt in the wound – I'm aware that I haven't been a good brother to you since dad's death._ Dean was determined to do a better job – but he'd prefer not to have to admit his mistakes to Sam.

Before Sam or Dean could say anything else, Jody came back into the living room, followed closely by a young dark-haired, dark-skinned man. "Um, hey…" she said. "This is Pedro. He's a friend of Amber's – I thought you might like to talk to him. Pedro, this is Dean and Sam," she continued to the man. "They're…"

"… Detectives," Dean cut in, standing up and offering a hand to Pedro. They shook, and Dean returned to his seat next to Sam. "So… Were you and Amber dating?" Dean asked. _Stick with the 'routine' questions – otherwise, he could become suspicious. And he probably doesn't know the truth about what we do…_

"No… We were just friends," Pedro said slowly. "Have you found out what might have happened to her?"

"We really don't know much just yet," Sam replied. "Right now, we're just going through some routine questions with anyone who might have known her. Do you happen to know if Amber _was_ dating anyone?"

Dean noticed that, although Jody had looked surprised at his comment about being detectives, she wasn't arguing the fact. _Smart girl,_ he thought approvingly, before turning his attention back to Pedro.

"Um…" Pedro glanced at Jody, and then at the brothers. "Not as far as I know," he replied. "Jody spent more time with Amber than I did; she'd know better than me, I think…"

"If Amber _did_ have a boyfriend, she kept him a secret from me," Jody answered.

"What about enemies?" Dean spoke up. "You know… people who might have borne a grudge against her?" _It _could_ just be a normal kidnapping case. All right, I don't _really_ believe that – but it's possible…_

Pedro shrugged, looking quite confused. "Not any enemies that _I_ knew about…" he replied. "I'm sorry – I wasn't expecting an interrogation when I came round here…"

"Oh, it's all right." Dean smiled. "Everything's off the record here. You probably won't be brought in for questioning. Oh, by the way – why _did_ you come round here?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I came to see how Jody was holding up," Pedro answered. "If there are no problems, though – and you guys don't need to ask me any more questions – I need to get to work."

"If Jody has a number where you can be reached, then you can leave, of course," Dean replied. "But we may need to ask you further questions at a later stage."

"I have no problem with that," Pedro replied. "Jody knows where I can be reached. If you need to get hold of me, just let her know." He glanced at the woman. "I can show myself out," he told her. Without waiting for any kind of response, he headed out of the room, all but slamming the door behind him.

"Think we might have offended him?" Dean asked.

"What was all that about?" Jody asked, staring at Sam and Dean. "You lied to Pedro – why did you say you were detectives?"

"Usually, people will tell us things if they think we're part of the relevant authorities or companies," Sam explained. "Yes, it's fraud – but firstly, it works. Secondly, it's for a good cause."

Dean frowned; something about what Sam was saying resonated inside his mind. It was the part about people being more likely to tell them things… _Amber was missing for a week, right…? So how come the administrator didn't tell me about that?_

* * *

Amber had no idea of just how much time had passed between being given the potion and now, but she became aware of someone removing something from her eyes, and felt what seemed to be sharp nails ghosting over her cheek. But even without the covering over her eyes, she couldn't make out more than indistinct shapes.

Amber swallowed, trying to moisten her mouth and her lips enough to speak. However, she couldn't make more than a gurgling sound.

"Oh… I forget that humans need to eat and drink," the voice from before commented, as Amber felt her hair being stroked from her face. "I'll get you something in a moment… But first…"

Amber gave a soft whimper as she felt the glass being pressed against her lips again, and struggled to turn her head away. She felt too weak to fight against it, though. The glass was tipped up, and the liquid burned down her throat.

Amber started coughing as the pain in her stomach worsened. That pain was joined by one in her forehead, and black spots began dancing in front of her eyes. She tried to scream, but nothing would come out.

"I've been told that they're looking for you," the person murmured against her ear. "I didn't think it would take them _this_ long – but it doesn't have any effect on what my plans are."

_Who?_ Amber wanted to ask, but it hurt too much to concentrate.

_FLASH. A man with sharp teeth holding her, tearing into her throat. Unimaginable pain…_

_FLASH. The silver blade of a dagger glinting, slicing her neck open._

_FLASH. The touch of lips on hers as she held a glass in her hand._

_FLASH. A snake being thrown at her by a man in a clearing._

A whole myriad of images that Amber didn't even understand whirled around inside her mind. She felt an intense agony as she once again had the sensation of her throat being sliced open. She tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the images stopped going through her mind, and Amber collapsed, gasping and exhausted. As she felt something cool pressed to her lips again, she swallowed the water eagerly, ignoring the voice telling her to take it slow and easy. As the glass was taken away again, she made a protesting sound, but it was returned a moment later with more water.

Amber kept her eyes closed as she felt a hand lightly touching her forehead a moment. She didn't want to open her eyes – but she had to at least get a good look at whoever was holding her captive.

Slowly, she forced her eyes open. Then, as she saw who was leaning over her, Amber's eyes widened, and she couldn't hold back a gasp.

"D-dean…?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Elixir**

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; some swearing; mentions/implications of torture; spoilers for season one and up to episode eight of season two; mental torture

**Author's Note:** Once again, a general thank you to those of you who have reviewed this fic, put it on Favourites/Alerts, or just read it. If people have left a signed review, I will have responded to it personally

* * *

"So what do you think might have happened to Amber?" Jody asked quietly, looking between Dean and Sam. "I thought she'd be dead – even though there's no been no body found. But if you saw her… _shoot_… Dean, I guess it's not possible she's dead. Unless… do shapeshifters exist?"

"Yes, they do," Dean answered.

"But not in the way you'd think," Sam cut in. "The one we ran into only seemed to be able to take on the 'skin' of a human. And he had to keep his victims alive – some sort of psychic link, we believe. So even if it _was_ a shapeshifter in the vision, it doesn't mean that Amber's been killed."

"What about demon possession?" Jody demanded, a slight hint of desperation to her tone.

"Well… we can't rule anything out," Dean said. "In something like this, anything's possible. But when we come into contact with Amber, we need to assume that she's a threat – so we'll have to neutralise her."

"Neutralise…?" Jody repeated, frowning. Then, her eyes widened. "You don't mean you'll hurt her… Do you?"

Sam looked at Dean, and then at Jody again. "Don't worry about that," he replied. "Do you think you could give us a minute? I need to ask Dean something."

Jody still looked disturbed by their words, and glanced at Dean before giving a slight nod. "I guess…" She stood up, and collected up the empty cans as well as her empty mug before leaving the room.

Sam waited until Jody was gone, and then turned to Dean. "I'm thinking we should avoid talking about using force to restrain Amber while she's around," he told his brother. "She's probably unlikely to understand just why it might be necessary, and it'll be difficult to get her cooperation if she's upset."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "I'm surprised at you, Sammy," he commented. "You don't tend to condone harming someone." _I'm the one with no problem doing that,_ he thought.

"I know that using force sometimes is necessary," Sam replied. "We're not going to kill Amber. Unless she makes the choice herself to do the shooting, hurting her fatally – or anything that might leave a permanent mark – is out of the question. Jody hasn't come that far yet," he continued. "It'll only upset her."

"Ooh, Sammy doesn't want to bother the pretty woman." Dean smirked.

Sam frowned. "I really hope you're not insinuating anything. We came here to prevent you getting killed, and that's all I care about."

"Yeah, I know." Dean shrugged slightly. "Doesn't stop you from having fun. If you weren't such an old man, that is." He shook his head. "Seriously, though… Talking about attractive women, I just remembered something kind of important about the administrator that we probably need to look into."

Sam frowned. "Is this something that needs to be private, or can I go tell Jody it's all right to come back in?" he asked.

"Might as well tell her to come back," Dean answered. "Since we'll probably need her help anyway, we should keep her in the loop."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, I'll go get her." Sam stood up, and headed out of the living room. He paused just outside the door, and glanced around, frowning a little. _I guess she went to the kitchen… wherever that is._ Trouble was, all of the doors he could see were shut.

_You'd think these psychic abilities wouldn't just be limited to visions…_

Finally, Sam – at random – chose the door directly opposite the living room. He opened it, and looked inside.

The room wasn't the kitchen. It actually seemed to be a study. Sam took in the general disarray of papers on the desk a moment, and raised his eyebrows. _And I thought _we_ were bad with organisation…_ Sam closed the door again, and then decided to try the door on the other side. It was with some relief that he saw he'd found the kitchen. He didn't really fancy having to look in every room.

Jody was standing in front of the sink, drying up a few plates and glasses that she had apparently just washed up. Her back was to Sam, but he could see an almost tense set to her shoulders. That and the way Sam saw her dry the same part of a plate twice seemed to suggest that what was happening bothered her more than she'd admitted.

"Hey…" Sam said softly, stepping up to Jody's side.

Jody hurriedly wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, and slipped the plate into one of the cupboards before turning to Sam. "So… you finished talking privately to your brother, I take it?"

Sam paused, wondering at the sheen of tears he thought he'd seen. _Maybe I should see if she wants to talk about it…_ But Jody seemed to be making an effort to not think about whatever was bothering her, and Sam figured he should respect that. _If she needs to talk, she will,_ he thought. "Yeah, we're finished," he replied. "Dean remembered something else, but you probably need to hear that as well."

"Oh, what?" Jody left the rest of the items on the draining board, and hung the tea towel up. "I'll put the rest of this away later."

"He hasn't told me what it is yet," Sam replied. "I assume he doesn't want to have to explain it twice. We'll also need to ask you some more questions. Do you think you'll be up for that?" He was giving her every opportunity to say no. _Sure, we could use her help – but she already seems in bad shape…_ Which was a little strange, given that Amber had been missing for a week.

On the other hand, Sam guessed he wasn't _too_ surprised by it…

"No, I'm happy to answer questions." Jody took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I just… I'd pretty much resigned myself to Amber being dead, you know? I mean, before you two showed up." She sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just… Well, I didn't actually expect to see you again," she added, changing the subject slightly.

"Yeah." Sam shrugged. "I haven't had too many chances to check my e-mails. There's been a lot going on."

"I'm sure, with what you do," Jody replied. "I'm sorry – it's not like I'm complaining or anything. I was just a little surprised."

"Yeah, I understand," Sam said. "A lot's happened since we last saw each other." He sighed lightly. "It would have been good to see you again under better circumstances." Sam shook his head slightly, and then headed towards the door of the kitchen. "We should try to get this sorted as soon as possible. Are you coming?"

Jody nodded. "Of course…" She followed Sam out of the kitchen, closing the door softly behind her.

As Jody and Sam entered the living room again, Dean glanced up. "Well, you took your time coming back," he commented. "Then again, if you wanted to spend more time together, I wouldn't mind waiting."

"Catching up on things isn't as important as preventing you from getting shot," Sam replied, taking his seat on the couch beside his brother.

"What have you thought of?" Jody asked Dean, sitting in the armchair directly opposite the couch and the coffee table.

"It's about the administrator for the university," Dean explained. "Before we came here, I went to see her. We had to find out the address of this place. Anyway, it just occurred to me that Amber had been missing for a week – yet the administrator didn't say anything about it. Would she have known?"

Jody frowned slightly. "I…" She shook her head. "Why would she say that? She _should_ know about Amber's disappearance."

"Maybe she didn't trust you," Sam suggested. _It would be a first, probably…_

"Or she knows something," Dean replied. "I suggest we put talking to the administrator as top priority. Jody, has anyone else gone missing recently that you know about?"

Jody frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then, finally, she answered, "I don't _think_ so. But it's not like I've actively gone looking for similar cases. Why? Do you think that Amber's disappearance might be connected to others'?"

"It's possible," Sam answered. He glanced at his brother. "We're gonna have to look into any other cases as well. Especially anything that's connected in some way to the specific area Amber went swimming in. Jody and I will look into similar cases," he continued. "Dean, you try and get hold of the administrator."

Dean smirked. "Is that you giving me your blessing to do whatever I like?" he asked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Sam replied. "You just work on the woman and see what you can get out of her, all right? You got her number, if I remember right."

Dean nodded, and turned to Jody. "Is it all right to use your phone?"

"Sure," Jody said. "It's in the study – the room directly opposite this one." She looked at Sam. "What can I do?"

"We'll go to the library," Sam answered. "Find out if there are any similar cases – and whether or not the people were actually found or came back. I'm sure you don't mind if Dean has to use the apartment to entertain, do you?"

"Hey, I hardly ever bring women back to the place we're staying in," Dean protested. He looked at Jody. "I mean… you were going to let us stay here, right?"

"Dean…" Sam frowned. "I'm sure that Jody doesn't want us imposing on her."

"No, it's fine," Jody answered. "It's been kind of lonely here with Amber missing. I don't mind having company. In fact, I'd prefer it to being alone…"

"All right," Sam said. He then looked at his brother. "Just do what you can to get the information out of the administrator. And be careful," he added.

"Dude, I'm always careful," Dean replied, and headed into the study.

Sam glanced at Jody. "Let's go."

* * *

Amber blinked, trying to get rid of the blurriness in her vision. The person who appeared to be Dean was leaning over her, watching her, and she felt a hand stroking her hair away from her face.

"Dean…?" she whispered again, unsure of just what was going on. Was she dead? She remembered the woman with the knife, and the cold pain of the blade slicing over her throat. But she also remembered her sister's ghost, and getting freaked out because she was feeling some sort of pain that seemed to have no cause.

_What's happening to me?_

"Don't panic," Dean said to her. "I'm working on a way of getting you out of here. For now, just play along."

Amber tried to speak, but all that came out was a choked groan. She closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed, before trying again. "What… about… you?" she whispered. "Wouldn't… he… take… you…?"

A moment later, Amber felt something cool and hard being placed against her lips. She tried to force her head away, but her chin was grasped, and the container was tipped up. She almost gasped as she felt liquid poured down her throat, but then gulped greedily at the water, only then realising just how thirsty she was.

"Take it slow," Dean cautioned. "If you drink too much at once, you'll make yourself sick."

Amber nodded, and drank the rest of the water as Dean held it for her. She would have liked more, but was very grateful for what she'd had. When it was all gone, she closed her eyes for a moment, savouring the feeling of having her thirst quenched.

"Where is… _he_?" Amber whispered finally. "He'll find you when he comes back…"

"Don't worry," Dean answered as he took away the glass. "He's not here right now. I can't stay for long. Sam got me here. You know Sam, right? My geeky, freakishly tall brother. He had a vision that brought us here."

Amber struggled a moment to sit up, but her hands and feet seemed to be tied down in some way. "I'm tied up…?"

"Chained up, actually," Dean replied. "I've yet to get hold of the keys – but it's not like he's hurting you yet. Besides, the view's kind of good from this angle. I'd be almost disappointed once you're out of those chains and put some clothes on instead of that bikini."

"If I wasn't tied up, I'd smack you one," Amber stated, trying to sound dignified. But that was kind of difficult, since she was so relieved to have someone she knew there. But then, she frowned. "You can't get me out…?"

"Be patient," Dean told her. "I'm working on it. But, for now, you have to co-operate with the demon. He'll hurt you if he can."

Amber's eyes widened. "But I don't even know _what_ he wants from me. And… a demon? They don't exist… Do they?"

"The same way ghosts and vampires don't exist?" Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Just get me out of here… please," Amber said. "I want to go home… and I'm so confused. What's going on? Where am I?" _Brownie… Where's my dog?_ It seemed like she had two sets of memories, and was wavering between them. And she had only met the man looking down on her in one…

Dean gave a slight frown. "Disorientation is natural at first," he said. "You're merging with a twin. Of course, the twin died, so it's bound to cause some… difficulty. Still, it's fascinating to watch."

Amber stared up at Dean, trembling a little. "You're not him…" she whispered, suddenly certain of that fact.

Smiling, the man wearing Dean's face leaned forward to whisper in Amber's ear. "I'm him in every way that counts." He touched Amber's cheek lightly. "And soon… soon, you will know it too."

Amber still felt very weak. However, mustering up all of her strength, she spat in the man's face.

The man barely blinked. He man simply raised a hand to wipe the moisture from his face. "You won't be able to hold out for long."

"What do you want from me?" Amber demanded, struggling futilely against her bonds. Her heart was pounding so violently in her chest that it almost hurt, and she felt terrified.

"You'll see soon," the man promised, bringing up a needle. Despite Amber's squirming, he was able to inject her with very little difficulty.

Amber continued squirming for a while longer, but then her vision went hazy before finally going black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Elixir**

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; some swearing; spoilers for the entirety of season one and up to episode eight of season two; character hurt; a brief 'bloody' moment

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic so far . Each review really means a lot to me. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year!

I also hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!

* * *

Once Sam and Jody were gone, Dean headed into the study, feeling in his pocket and finally finding the slip of paper with the administrator's number written on it. A bark drew his attention to the door, and Dean gave a slight frown as he noticed the Springer spaniel sitting in the doorway, tongue hanging out.

Dean narrowed his eyes at the animal, feeling a little uncomfortable around Brownie, but not really nervous. "Do you want food or something?" he asked.

The dog just stared disconcertingly at Dean, panting heavily. Dean turned his attention back to the phone, but found it somewhat difficult to concentrate on making the call with the dog sitting there. He sighed a bit, and then put the piece of paper down next to the phone before heading over to the door. "Come on… I'll find you something to eat." He assumed that Jody would have some dog food in one of the kitchen cupboards.

_I should have asked her where the food and beers were before she and Sam left…_

Fortunately, Dean found the door leading to the kitchen pretty quickly. He stepped inside, and started opening the cupboards as Brownie ran over to his food bowl and stood beside it expectantly.

Dean found some tins of dog food, and also a packet of potato chips. He opened a couple of drawers, and found a tin opener and a fork. He set the packet of potato chips on the side, and opened the tin before forking some of the dog food into Brownie's bowl.

The dog yipped, and then started eating the meat chunks. Dean turned his attention to the packet of potato chips, and opened them. He then started eating, leaning against one of the counters. _Screw the whole eating healthily thing… There's no point in eating salads and things like that. It's not like I don't exercise enough anyway._

Dean was about halfway through the packet before he realised that Brownie had finished his food, and was now sitting in front of him, tongue hanging out and paws raised, as if he was begging. When Dean shrugged and turned back to his food, Brownie gave an almost scolding bark.

Dean turned back to the dog, and frowned. "What do you want _now_?" he asked, not having any hope that the animal would understand him.

Besides… if Brownie _did_ understand him, then it would mean that the dog wasn't an ordinary animal, and he'd have to kill it. Or exorcise it.

The dog just sat there for a moment, watching Dean. Then, it barked, and ran out of the kitchen.

Dean frowned, feeling that strange sense of déjà vu again. He shook his head slightly to clear it, and then made his way out of the kitchen and into the study once again, leaving the half-eaten packet of potato chips behind him.

Brownie was sitting there, in front of one of the bookcases. As Dean passed him, the dog let out a low growl. The man paused, and glanced at the animal again. "_Now_ what do you want?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes a little as he tried to remember if he'd read up on anything to do with animals trying to communicate.

_Sammy should be here. He's the scholar – not to mention being psychic…_

The dog barked, and then leaped up at Dean. The man frowned, and pushed the dog down and away from him. "Hey!" _I really don't like dogs, and even less when they jump up on me._ He frowned slightly then, as he noticed that Brownie had been sitting in front of a photo sitting on the bookcase.

Feeling curious, Dean reached out and picked up the photo.

There were two young women in the photo, their arms around each other and laughing at the camera. Both women looked familiar to him, but Dean could only put a name to one of them. Melissa – the spirit who had taken revenge for her death by killing her murderer, Doctor Nelson.

The second woman in the picture looked like she might be Melissa's sister, and Dean wondered if she might be Amber. The sense of déjà vu came back – even stronger – as he stared at the second red-haired woman in the photo.

"_So… Do you have any brothers or sisters?"_

"_I _did_ have one. An older sister. Her name was Melissa – she was a reporter."_

Dean frowned as he heard the voices speaking inside his mind. He immediately backed away, suddenly feeling quite uneasy, and had to fight with himself not to throw the photo as far away from him as possible.

_I shouldn't be hearing voices… If anyone would be, it should be Sam!_

Brownie barked, and Dean couldn't help jerking slightly. He turned to look at the dog, but suddenly seemed to see another place overlaying the room he was in. Instead of seeing Brownie looking alive and well, Dean seemed to see the dog ripped apart by what appeared to be a wild animal and covered in blood.

Dean blinked, and the image was gone. A glance down revealed that he had dropped the photograph with enough force to crack the glass. Slowly, Dean crouched down and picked up the photograph, a little shakily. He put the photograph on the desk, and then slowly sat down on the chair, trying to work out just what was happening to him.

_Sam claimed that I slipped into a parallel world, and might have met Amber's twin there… But if that's true, why don't I remember?_

Dean really didn't have a clue of what was going on, or of what was happening to him. He didn't remember anything about his time in a coma – unless the brief snippets of conversation and the image of Brownie dead counted.

_Maybe I should give Missouri a call. See if she can tell me anything._ Dean turned his attention to the dog again, watching the animal with slightly narrowed eyes. He was beginning to suspect that Brownie wasn't an ordinary dog, and wasn't sure what to do about it. Not too long ago, he would have killed the animal without a second thought.

But after the vampire, Dean wasn't so sure of anything anymore…

One thing was for sure – Dean couldn't handle calling the administrator right then. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on having a conversation with anyone other than his brother – and Sam had gone to the library with Jody.

_It doesn't mean that I can't talk to him, though…_ Dean picked up the phone, and, without hesitating, dialled his brother's number.

* * *

Sam and Jody walked into the library, both quiet and each caught up in their own thoughts – or, in Sam's case, brooding.

_I don't get it,_ Sam thought. _How is Amber's disappearance connected to the demon? All of my other visions have been in some way. And what was the deal with arriving too late to stop her disappearance from coming true? Why show me that part of the vision at all if there was no way to prevent it from happening?_

"Sam?" Jody's voice drew the man from his thoughts as she continued, "What are we looking for?"

"Newspaper articles, mainly," Sam replied. "If we're lucky, we can get one of the librarians to do most of the work for us, if we tell them what kind of things we're looking for."

"They're unlikely to be willing to help us," Jody pointed out. "You haven't been away from here too long, right? Most of the librarians here don't like to help. I guess it's not part of their job description or something. So how are you gonna get them to do most of the work?"

"Watch and learn," Sam replied. He walked over to the reception desk and to one of the older librarians with grey hair and a stern look on her face. He could feel Jody's eyes on him, and couldn't help smiling a bit, even though he wasn't too fond of the idea of manipulating his brother. Still, if it was to save his brother – he would do _anything_.

The woman turned her attention to Sam, and raised her eyebrows. "Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

Sam gave her his best smile and leaned forward slightly; his hands on the desk, but was careful not to move too much into the woman's personal space. "My partner and I are working on a project," he said. "We need to look at newspaper articles, specifically at disappearances in recent times and up to about twenty-three years ago." He allowed himself to look a little helpless.

The woman blinked, and seemed to be caught off guard by Sam's comment. "You'll have to sign for the newspapers," she told him. "Either you or your partner."

Sam nodded, and when the librarian turned to get the book, he cast a surreptitious glance towards Jody. _I can't exactly sign myself. Jody at least is a student at the university. It'll look too suspicious if I make the signing._

Jody hesitated, and then walked over to Sam. The man glanced at her, and Jody signed the book after the librarian brought it over without a word. She set the pen down again, and glanced at Sam, then at the librarian.

"There are quite a number of cases about people disappearing from around here," the librarian commented as she walked round the desk, and headed over to a filing cabinet. "People have come up with all sorts of theories as to why this has happened – but most of the victims have stayed missing."

"Most?" Sam questioned, as he and Jody stopped close to the librarian. "Some of them turned up again?"

The woman nodded. "The ones who came back were all acting strangely and saying some very odd things. But I'll let you read the articles for yourselves," she continued, rifling through one of the drawers. She took out a pile of newspapers, and handed them to Sam. "These would be the most helpful to you. Make sure you put them back when you're finished with them, though."

"Of course." Sam looked at Jody. "Let's go find a free table to sit down at, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he started to walk over to the tables, and heard Jody obediently follow him.

Sam sat down at the only free table. When Jody sat down as well, he pushed half of the newspapers over to her. "I want you to look through these, and mark down any similarities you can find. To Amber's disappearance, and with any that might be connected to each other. Make a note of any direct quotes if they mention any from someone who came back after being taken."

Jody took a look at the stack of newspapers, and released her breath in a slight sigh. "It's a good thing that I don't have any assignments on at the moment," she commented. Then, she took a pad of paper and a pen out of her bag, and set them down on the table next to the stack of newspapers.

Sam watched Jody for a moment, and then turned his attention to his own pile of newspapers. He took out a notebook and a pen, and started reading through the newspapers, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. He remembered having to look at newspaper articles online when Dean had fallen into a coma.

_And this is, once again, to save Dean's life…_

Sam studied the articles with a frown. Most of them were just about disappearances, and more than Sam would have really suspected. No one seemed to have made any connection between the victims. Finally, he came across an article which mentioned someone who had come back after being missing, and he read it eagerly.

_Missing Person Presumed Dead Returns to Family and Friends  
__47-year-old Peter Rogers – missing for a fortnight – came back to his family on Sunday 4th January. The father of three was confused and disorientated, and had to be kept in hospital overnight for observation.  
__When Mr. Rogers turned up again, it was at the beach where he was thought to have disappeared from. He was obviously delirious, and kept talking about some kind of elixir that was supposed to heal wounds and bring the dead back to life. The doctors and police thought that perhaps he had been brainwashed and gone through mental torture.  
__Foul play is suspected, and people are asked to be especially careful when going to the beach after dark._

As Sam read, he made notes on the paper about the details he noticed. _The beach seems to feature more often than not, and I'm guessing that was where Amber was taken from. If she and Peter Rogers were taken there, then they could have been imprisoned in a cave. A beach hut is unlikely…_

Sam moved onto the next newspaper, and started reading the missing persons article. However, before he could really get into it, his cell phone rang.

The ringing of the cell phone caused Sam to get a few glares from the librarians and some of the students. He gave them an apologetic look, and then stood up, heading towards the door of the library to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sammy," Dean's voice said on the other end of the phone. "What's up? Managed to find out anything yet?"

Sam sighed. "More questions than answers," he admitted. "There have been disappearances – a lot – and there have also been people who have come back after disappearing. I've only found one so far. He apparently returned disorientated and delirious – kept talking about some kind of elixir." He made sure to keep his voice low.

"Elixir?" Dean repeated. "You mean as in the elixir of life? That kind of elixir?"

"Is the administrator there?" Sam asked, aware of the fact that Dean wasn't trying to keep his voice down.

"I haven't called her yet," Dean admitted after a moment.

Sam frowned, realising that there was something a little off about his brother. "Why not?" he asked. "I thought you'd jump at the chance to pump the administrator for information. You certainly _seemed_ eager to see her again. Losing interest in the chicks as you get older?" he teased gently.

"You wish, Sammy," Dean replied immediately. "I'm still interested in the chicks, of course. But only one of them is going to kill me."

"Maybe," Sam corrected. "We don't know for sure."

"I think we have a pretty good idea there, bro. If you had any doubt, exactly how many of your visions _haven't_ come true – or at least very close to it? None," Dean answered his own question. "You know her better than me, Sam. How close to killing someone do you really think she is?"

"I don't know Amber _that_ well," Sam said. "I only met her once." _I don't think having a vision of her counts._ He then frowned, noticing that Dean was strangely avoiding using Amber's name. _I wonder why that is…_ "Hey, Dean… You sound really strange. Is everything all right? Did something happen?"

"I'm fine," Dean replied in a slightly snappish tone. "That dog – Brownie – is acting weirdly. I'm pretty sure it's not a normal animal."

"Animals tend to have a kind of sixth sense about supernatural things," Sam reminded his brother. "Plus, it's Amber's dog. It could be unsettled because of her disappearance." _I know Dean doesn't like dogs – but he shouldn't sound _this_ strange…_

"That dog might be a lot of things," Dean answered. "But he definitely isn't unsettled. The first time I saw him, I had a strong sense of déjà vu. Which might not be so strange in itself – but I swear the dog directed me to a photo of Melissa and her sister. Oh, and then I saw him dead."

Sam was taken aback by that. "You saw him dead?" he repeated. "The dog?" _Dean doesn't have any psychic abilities… Not as far as I know, at least._

"Yeah," Dean replied. "It was only briefly, though. It looked like he'd been killed by a wild animal – ripped to pieces – and even though it was in the study, Brownie seemed to have been killed in a kitchen."

Sam couldn't help feeling confused and a little nervous. _I wonder if Dean has been drinking, or even started doing drugs,_ he thought, a little uneasily. It was a scary thought – but Sam didn't think he could put _anything_ past this new, silent and hurting brother. Out loud, Sam asked, "Dean, are you feeling all right? Have you… taken anything?" He winced as he spoke, already guessing how his brother would take that question.

There were a few moments of silence, and Sam could just about imagine the look on his brother's face. Then, finally, Dean spoke up, his tone sounding cold. "Just what are you implying, Sam?"

Sam recognised the warning signs, and quickly decided to drop the whole subject – at least for now. "Nothing," he replied. "Look, Dean – I'll finish up here with Jody, and then we'll come back here and let you know what we've learned. All right?" _Please don't do anything stupid…_ he silently begged.

"Whatever." There was a click as Dean disconnected the call.

* * *

"This experiment doesn't seem to be working on her. There's a lot of damage to her mind from the memories – especially those with connection to her death in the other world. I'd advise termination of the subject, and perhaps an attempt with a new one."

The first sense to return to Amber was sound. She didn't dare open her eyes as she heard the voices, though. Someone was probing her body with cold, impersonal hands, much as a doctor would examine a patient. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help a slight whimper, and an attempt to squirm away from the probing fingers.

Abruptly, the hands were withdrawn. "She's awake."

"We've come too far with this to start again," a voice that seemed to be hissing slightly said. "Even if those memories damage her mentally, she can still be useful to us. He'll come for her – and by that time, she'd better be ready."

"Are you sure he'll come?" a third voice – one that seemed somewhat familiar to Amber – asked. "His memories of her have been sealed away. He won't be eager to rescue her because he doesn't know enough about her."

"He'll come," the second voice replied, sounding grim.

"Open your eyes," the first voice told Amber. She wanted to refuse, but found herself powerless to disobey. A little light was shone into her eyes, and the woman continued, "Pupils are normal – no sign of dilation or blood vessels having burst. As for the rest – she won't survive for long if you continue to withhold food. If you're insistent about using her, she needs to be in relatively good health. And if you're not careful, she's going to catch hypothermia."

_A doctor?_ Amber thought fuzzily, straining to see in the darkness. She couldn't make out much more than blonde hair pulled into a bun, though. It felt like she'd always been in this room, lying on this cold slab…

The next thing Amber knew, the restraints on her were suddenly loosened. She couldn't help a soft cry of pain as the blood suddenly rushed into joints that hadn't been used in a while. Someone was sitting her up, and she was helpless to do anything other than let them do so.

"Stay here a moment," the third voice that was familiar to Amber told her. "If you try to run, I'll hurt you worse than you've ever been hurt before. Understand me?"

Amber nodded, wincing as intense pins and needles started in her hands and feet. Right now, she felt too weak to even move at all. The support left her shoulders, and it took all she had not to let herself fall and to keep sitting up as still as possible. She still didn't know where she was, but she knew that she was in danger.

A few moments later, the person returned, and started feeding Amber. By then, she was beginning to be able to move her hands and feet, but she gave no sign of that as the food was placed into her mouth – like she was an invalid – and she began chewing.

The food was mainly bread, dried meat and fruit, and some nuts. Amber was too hungry to care, though, and ate greedily as the person held the food for her. He seemed to understand the importance of not eating too much after being starved of food, though, and cautioned her to be slower.

As Amber's eyes got more used to the dim lighting, she could make out the fact that she seemed to be inside a cave. There was an entrance not far, and as her eyes flickered around, she tried to work out how easy it would be to get there. She still couldn't make out the faces of her captors, though…

_But what did they mean? Who's coming here? Someone who's going to rescue me…?_ Amber had no idea how long she'd been there for, though. _Am I dead? I remember dying… It was Dean's fault…_ She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts, though, as the person who'd just fed her walked over to the other two.

Here was her chance. Amber pushed herself off the slab, and ran for the entrance.

She didn't get very far, though. Amber was still quite weak, and no match for the speed of the others. She was hit by a flying tackle, and knocked to the floor. The next moment, she felt her right hand grasped, and she tried to pull herself free, but was unable to do so.

"I did warn you…" the man said calmly.

The next moment, white-hot pain exploded in Amber's hand, and she screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Elixir**

**Chapter Five**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. I guess the plot of this story kind of belongs to me. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; spoilers; some swearing; Dean getting drunk; torture… Yep, full load here. Make no mistake – this chapter is incredibly dark. It's also possible that some things may not be entirely historically accurate – so don't take one of the scenes as fact. (You'll see which one I mean)

**Author's Note:** General thank you to everyone who's left a review, and even to those who have read, but not actually left a review. If you've left a signed review, I will have replied personally to it

* * *

After talking to Sam, Dean just sat behind the desk, tapping his fingers against the polished surface. He stared blankly at the far wall, feeling weary and like he just wanted to sleep. Not that he really could at the moment. He and his brother were working on a case, after all. A case that could easily end in Dean's death.

_I should have made that deal with the demon… Then if anything happened to me, at least dad would be able to look after Sammy…_

For a moment, Dean rested his head in his hands. Then, as Brownie gave a bark, he looked up.

Once again, another place seemed to overlay the room Dean was in. This time, it was outside – and Dean jerked to his feet as he glimpsed a face that was rather familiar, despite being transparent.

"Shit!"

Meg didn't try to attack Dean, though. He could just about make out what seemed to be Sam standing next to her – but that was impossible. Sam wasn't even around – he was still at the library.

But there was someone else, who Meg had hold of. As Dean watched – powerless – the demon raised something that glinted in her free hand. She then plunged it into the woman's throat, and let her go.

For an instant, Dean's eyes locked with the transparent Amber's. Then, the three figures vanished, and there was no evidence of them ever being there.

Dean stood up, shoving the chair back. As determined as he was to do _something_, he knew that he had to wait until Sam was back. "I really need a drink," the hunter muttered, as he stalked out of the study and back into the kitchen.

* * *

Sam couldn't help feeling slightly worried when he and Jody finally made their way back to Jody's apartment. He hadn't expected them to be quite that long, but Jody had found some things in the newspapers while he'd been on the phone, and they'd had to do some photocopying before being able to leave.

_I _really_ hope Dean's all right,_ Sam fretted. _He really didn't sound very good on the phone. What could be wrong with him?_ He waited impatiently for Jody to unlock the front door, holding the photocopied papers with a frown. _I _knew_ we should have come back earlier…!_

When Jody got the door open, Sam had to struggle not to just barge past her looking for his brother. Instead, he let the woman go through first, and then walked through, dumping the papers on the table before looking round. "Dean?!"

The other man stumbled out of the kitchen, swaying dangerously. He grabbed hold of the side of the wall for support, and stared blearily at his brother. "Oh, you're back finally, are you? Took your own sweet time getting here."

Sam frowned. "Dean, have you been drinking?" he asked.

"Just a little," Dean mumbled, slurring his words slightly. "You know… I saw something else," he continued, his eyes looking dull. "Did you know that Amber died once?"

"Huh?" Jody glanced between the brothers, frowning. "Sam… What's he talking about?" she asked, taking a slight step backwards. "Amber isn't dead… She's still alive!" She looked very close to hysteria.

"Jody… Calm down," Sam told the woman, keeping his eyes on Dean. It had been a while – but his mind moved for a moment to the events after Roosevelt Asylum, and how he had been told Dean had slipped into a parallel world. _He must be starting to remember… I guess that's what he meant when we spoke on the phone._ "Dean… Who killed Amber?" he asked, trying to work out just what was going on.

"Meg did. That bitch," Dean said hotly. "She slit Amber's throat… right in front of me! It would never have happened if I'd never gone there."

"Amber's not dead here, though," Sam pointed out, keeping his tone calm.

Dean shook his head slightly. "No, because it's not the same. She _died_. I couldn't do anything about it."

Sam frowned, feeling rather worried by the way his brother was acting. _Even when he gets totally wasted, Dean always keeps his feelings buried really deep down. There must be something wrong with him._

"I'm just going… to check how much alcohol there is left," Jody said, clearly wanting to get out of the situation. She eyed Dean for a moment, and then quickly slipped past him – like a frightened animal – and into the kitchen.

"Come on, Dean." Sam stepped over to his brother and took his arm. "Let's get you up into bed now." He gently steered his brother towards the stairs, unable to help his growing feelings of worry and concern.

* * *

"Confess you're a witch."

The woman hung in the chains, her face bloodied and bruised. Dark hair which had long since lost its shine fell in a tangled mess down to her shoulders. The slim form which had tempted some was broken from the torture it had suffered.

Still, as the woman slowly raised her head to look her torturer in the eye, defiance showed clearly in her face.

"I will not. I am no witch."

Her answer had not changed, no matter what had been done to her. By confessing, she would save her own life. But still, the words would not leave her lips.

The torturer reached for one of the brands burning in the coals.

"This isn't necessary."

The torturer turned to the third person in the room, and couldn't help giving an annoyed frown. "I _told_ you," he replied. "They're evil, tools of the devil in flesh that's pleasing to the eye. It's not like they're human."

"She looks human to me," the other man said, compassion sounding clearly in his tone. "At least give her a break, all right?"

"Maybe _you're_ in league with Satan as well." The torturer narrowed his eyes at the man, who took a step back. The torturer smiled with pure, maniacal glee. "I've found another one." He hefted the brand as if it were a weapon.

The woman suddenly screamed, and contorted in the chains. She started muttering strange words, her eyes fixed – not on the torturer – but on the other man.

Instantly, the torturer changed his mind. "She's casting a spell on you!" He turned his attention back to the woman, and pressed the brand against her shoulder.

The sound and smell of burning flesh filled the dungeon. The other man turned his face away and was sick. Lifting his head again, his eyes met the woman's.

She'd made no sound as the torturer burned her. As the two stared into each other's eyes, though, a few tears slipped down the woman's cheeks.

And as the torturer continued his work, neither looked away.

* * *

Amber gasped with pain, and was unable to stop the tears flowing. Her hand had been smashed up, and although the doctor was bandaging it, even the slightest movement caused her complete agony.

"He did warn you," the doctor commented as she finished wrapping up Amber's hand. "Really, you brought this on yourself."

"Go to hell, you bitch," Amber muttered, twisting against the ropes with her free hand.

Another voice laughed. "Feisty little one, isn't she?" he asked. "I'm thinking we'll need to resort to more… extreme measures… for what we want from this little human."

Amber closed her eyes, no longer able to pay much attention to what was going on around her. Her hand hurt too much, and she was feeling so tired and sick. All she wanted was to go home, curl up in her nice warm bed, and sleep for perhaps a hundred years or so. But the pain in her hand was stopping her from being able to even faint, so she tried to focus on the conversation between her captors to take her mind off her hand as much as possible.

"I advise strongly against that," the doctor replied. "What you're suggesting is a procedure that can have disastrous results. You've seen what can happen – healthy subjects have lost their minds before. Not only have you woken memories in this one of her previous death, but she's also hurt, and possibly sick."

"Your job isn't to question my orders," the third voice said. "_Your_ job is to keep her healthy enough until _he_ arrives. You just start the procedure – we'll take care of the rest."

"No!" the doctor exclaimed. "I will _not_ allow it!"

_So _now_ she has a conscience?_ Amber's teeth sank into her lower lip as a twinge of pain went through her hand. She didn't want to give any of them the satisfaction of seeing how much pain she was in.

There was the sound of a slap, and Amber's eyes flew open in time to see the doctor reel back, her hand clasped to her cheek – which suddenly seemed to be bleeding. She stared at the second man in shock and obvious disbelief. "What…! Why…?" She seemed unable to find the words.

_Huh… I thought that being slapped doesn't cause bleeding…_ As that occurred to her, though, Amber caught sight of the man's eyes – which were glowing with a yellow light.

"Remember why you're here!" the man snapped. "You're completely expendable, and you're supposed to be following my orders – not trying to give advice. I don't care about what effect it'll have on her, so long as the end result is what I want. Do you understand?"

The doctor hesitated, and then walked over to Amber, taking out a case. She opened it, and took out a needle, then held it with the tip pointed up, and flicked the tube a couple of times. "I'll need one of you to find a vein," she said to the other two men. "Preferably in the arm that _doesn't_ have a smashed hand."

The man that looked like Dean stepped up to Amber, and grabbed her other arm none too gently. Since she was still only wearing a bikini, he didn't have to roll up a sleeve. He traced a finger down her arm, and then tapped it lightly. "Here," he said to the doctor. "Need me to tie a tourniquet round it?"

"No, it should be fine," the doctor answered. "Just hold her still." She pressed the tip of the needle against Amber's arm, and then pressed the plunger, injecting whatever was in the needle into the woman's bloodstream.

Amber struggled, but she was nowhere near strong enough to break the man's grip. As the doctor took the needle away, Amber's vision grew blurry, and then she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness once more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Elixir**

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; original characters; spoilers up to and including episode eight of season two; torture

**Author's Note:** A big thank-you to all of those who've read and reviewed this fic so far. You're all really great!

Apologies for the lateness of this chapter – I've been quite busy lately.

* * *

Sam came back downstairs to find Jody sitting in the living room, staring at the television screen. Her hands were clenching and unclenching in her lap, and her whole body was tense. She seemed to be on edge, and Sam couldn't blame her, to be honest. It had to be terrible to hear that her friend had probably died once.

"Hey…" Sam said softly, heading over to the young woman. He slowly sat down next to her, and glanced at the screen as well. "There doesn't seem to be anything interesting on. Want to change the channel?" He kept his tone gentle.

Jody didn't even smile. She just continued to stare blankly at the screen, looking like she really wanted to cry. She didn't even react when Sam picked up the remote and turned the television off. For a few minutes, the two just sat in silence. Sam couldn't help remembering how he felt after Jessica's death – always a contradiction. Sometimes, all he wanted to do was talk about it. Others, the slightest thing caused him to talk to anyone who'd listen – usually his brother.

Sam glanced sideways at Jody. "You know… if you want to talk about it at all, I'm willing to listen." He paused, then – when there was only silence – continued, "Whenever you're ready." With that, he stood up.

The next moment, though, Jody grabbed onto Sam in a tight, almost clinging hug. A little surprised, Sam slipped his arms gently around her. "It's all right…" he said softly. "Amber will be fine – you'll see." Of course, he had no way of knowing that for sure. It was always the sort of thing he'd say to someone in a similar situation.

Jody didn't say anything. She just held onto Sam. Then, slowly, she slid her hands up over his back, and clasped them behind his neck. Then, she leaned up to gently press her lips to his in a soft kiss.

Before he really thought about it, Sam was kissing her back, his arms tight around Jody. Then, he came to his senses. _She's grieving about her friend. She doesn't really know what she's doing._ Sam pulled back from the kiss, and moved his hands to Jody's shoulders. Before she could say anything, he spoke firmly. "You're upset about your friend's disappearance. You're acting irrationally."

Sam felt Jody's hands clench slightly behind his neck. Then, she let go of him, and stepped back, her hands dropping to her sides.

"Sorry…" she whispered.

Sam smiled tentatively at Jody. "It's all right," he replied. "It's been a really stressful few days – for all of us, I think." He seemed to be the only one who felt anything even remotely normal – and if he was normal, then there wasn't much hope for anyone else.

For a moment, Sam's mind flashed to his brother, asleep upstairs in the guestroom. _What happened in the parallel world? I knew that Amber was probably connecting with her 'twin' there – but I didn't realise she'd _died Of course, that _would_ explain why Amber had just run off without saying anything…

"Do you want a beer?" Jody asked, pulling Sam out of his thoughts. She gave a slightly hesitant smile. "I was thinking I'd follow your brother's example of getting totally wasted."

"Believe me, you shouldn't follow my brother's example on _anything_," Sam answered. "He's just… in a really bad place right now." He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. _I don't have to explain Dean's actions…_ Let's just do something that _isn't_ self-destructive, all right?" he suggested.

"What about trying to find out where Amber might be?" Jody suggested.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Do you have any ideas about where she might be?"

Jody shrugged. "Just what I've been reading in the newspapers and that Amber was going to go swimming… I'm thinking that she might be in one of the underwater caves. I could be wrong – but it seems to be the likeliest place, I think." She shrugged slightly. "I don't know… What do you think?"

Sam frowned, remembering what he'd found out – and the visions he'd had. "You could be right… But there are a lot of underwater caves to look in. Unless we get lucky, it's going to take a long time to find Amber. We probably need to find some way of narrowing down the search."

Jody nodded slowly, and gave a thoughtful frown. "I don't have any ideas on how to narrow down the search… What about you?"

"I think it would probably be a good idea to sleep on it," Sam answered after a moment. "I'm sure we'll be able to think of something in the morning – but right now, I'm all out of ideas." _Maybe I'll have another vision, and I'll be able to see…_ As Jody opened her mouth, Sam continued, "We won't be able to do anything this evening anyway – I'm sure Amber will be all right. At least – in my vision – she was alive."

"That's not very reassuring," Jody replied. "Couldn't your vision change as the situation changes?"

"It's possible…" Sam frowned. _But my visions have usually come true – well, unless Dean and I have been able to stop them from happening._ "However, I think it's unlikely. Not that I know too much about this ability, of course…"

"Are we going to be able to find Amber?" Jody asked after a moment. "Do you think she'll be all right?"

_I guess I can't really lie to her,_ Sam thought. "I really don't know," he said honestly. "We'll do all that we can, of course – but I don't want to make any false promises." Of course, seeing the stricken look on Jody's face made him almost regret that honesty. _She hasn't been raised in this life – I guess she still hasn't worked out that no matter how hard you try, you can't save everyone._

Jody turned away, taking a deep, almost shuddering breath. "I just… I'm going to bed now," she whispered. "I don't want to talk about this anymore right now." She walked slowly towards the door, but then paused and turned back round to face Sam. "You have to find Amber."

"We'll do our best," Sam promised. _But if it comes to a choice between her and my brother – I'll choose Dean every time,_ he thought.

Jody nodded, and then simply left the room. A moment later, Sam heard her heading up the stairs. He sighed, and sat down on the sofa, raking a hand through his hair. He was out of ideas…

* * *

Dean had long since perfected the art of looking like he was asleep and resting when really he was wide awake, waiting for the next attack.

This time was no different. Sam had thought he was asleep – but even with the amount of alcohol he had consumed, Dean still felt the deep-seated need to protect his little brother. He'd always had the feeling that something bad would happen to Sammy if he wasn't alert and ready for an attack.

Dean swallowed, feeling the way his stomach was rolling. He was starting to sober up, and he really wished he wasn't. He had wanted to push away those memories of seeing Amber killed by Meg – but they were now returning tenfold.

As he lay in the bed, Dean could hear someone coming up the stairs. Judging by the amount of noise being made, he assumed it was Jody. Not that she was _really_ loud – but years of hunting had taken its toll on Sam. He moved much quieter than the average person, even after four years away at university.

Dean opened his eyes, and stared up at the ceiling. He would have wanted to try and get some sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw his brother possessed and Amber dying.

A person's death had never quite affected him _this_ much before.

Since he wasn't going to get any sleep, Dean got up off the bed. He thought that Sam was probably still downstairs. Maybe later, he could go into the kitchen and get something to eat. For now, though, he just walked over to the window, and stood looking out – as if he could see the answers he needed to find out there.

_How can I help you? Give me some way to find you!_

* * *

"You should confess. And then all of this would be over – you'd be free of the pain."

The woman hung limp in the chains, her body thin and wasted. If it weren't for the light in her eyes, one would think that she was dead already. She wouldn't look at the man standing in front of her. Her answer still hadn't changed.

"I will not."

He shook his head, reaching out as if to touch her cheek. Then, before his fingertips could touch her, he lowered his hand again. If anyone caught him talking to her, he ran the risk of being accused of consorting with the devil, and being tortured until he confessed to being a witch.

Just like so many others…

"Don't you want to save your own life?"

"They can break my body, but they will never be able to break my spirit." Her voice was soft, with a little pause between each word. She was very weak, and could barely lift her head enough to look at him.

There wasn't much time for him to convince her to make a confession. She was supposed to be burned at the stake just after dawn; unless – of course – she confessed to being a witch, and accused others.

He still didn't know why he wanted to save this woman out of all of those accused – but he really did. "Save yourself," he pleaded. "You'll be burned at dawn unless you confess and name others."

"If you don't want to get accused of being a witch, you should leave me," she whispered, still not looking at him. "I won't change my mind. You're wasting your time."

He slowly straightened up, realising that there was no way he was going to get her to change her mind. He turned away from the broken body, closing his eyes for a moment. He'd done all he could – there was no other way he could think of to save her life. She would burn after the night had passed.

* * *

When Amber came to again, her head was pounding violently, and she felt sick. Opening her eyes, she was actually relieved – for once – that there was no light in the place she was in. It would probably make her feel worse.

If that was even possible.

"You know… he's not going to come for you," the person who looked like Dean whispered. "I can tell you think he's going to ride in on a white horse and rescue you – but it's not going to happen."

Amber swallowed, trying to moisten her mouth enough to speak. Then, finally, she managed to get out, "What's in that needle?"

The man frowned. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I didn't know it required a response…" Amber muttered. "I feel sick – and I won't be able to do anything for you if I'm too sick – and drugged – to move." The pain in her hand was now a dull ache – but she was still aware that something was wrong with it. Attempting to move even her fingers caused agony.

The man's teeth flashed in the gloom. "Nice try. But I know you'd never help us by choice – especially not now."

Amber started to say something, but then broke out into a fit of violent coughing. She had no idea where the woman and the other man were, and it didn't really bother her too much. There was no other option than to take it a moment at a time. But she couldn't help wondering – was the stranger right?

There was no reason for Dean to come for her. He probably didn't even know she was missing. Even if he did – as far as he was concerned, she was dead. She remembered dying in the other world.

And it terrified her.

The man smiled, and then slowly leaned closer to Amber. Putting his face quite close to hers, he began to whisper, his lips almost brushing the tip of her ear.

And no matter how hard she tried not to, Amber couldn't help listening…


	7. Chapter 7

**Elixir**

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Violence; character death; mental torture; spoilers for the entirety of season one and up to episode eight of season two

**Author's Note:** I'm really sorry for my lack of updating. My inspiration's been quite low lately, and it's been difficult to sit down and just write. Thanks for your patience! And thank you for all the reviews I've had for this, too

* * *

When Sam woke up the next morning, it was to sunlight streaming through the window and the smell of baking drifting through the open door.

For a moment, Sam just lay there, blinking a few times. The room he was sleeping in had… did belong to Amber. He hadn't had much of a chance to see what the room was like before going to bed and he wasn't sure he really wanted to see it _now_.

Finally realising that he wasn't going to find anything new by just lying around, Sam got out of the bed and allowed himself to take a look around the room.

There wasn't a lot of stuff in the room. The desk against the far wall was free of clutter, with only a laptop resting on the surface. The walls were a soft green in colour and there was a chest of drawers with a jewellery box resting on the top. Sam also saw a white bookcase beside the bed. His curiosity piqued, Sam moved over to the bookcase to take a look.

There were a number of different fiction books, particularly crime and romance. As he looked over the books, Sam almost missed the non-fiction ones – he would have done, if he wasn't so observant.

They were interspersed well enough with the other books that a casual observer wouldn't have noticed them. A few books appeared to be about magic and general supernatural creatures, but the one that mainly caught his eye was titled, _Spirits and their Meanings_.

Sam took the book out and flicked through it. He frowned slightly, noticing a passage that had been marked – probably by Amber.

'_Although most spirits will stay on the earth because they have unfinished business, __a very few spirits will be bound to the earth because a loved one will not be able to grieve properly and let them go…'_

Sam closed the book before he saw any more. He remembered that when he'd first met Amber, she'd held onto the spirit of her dead sister. He figured that Amber had probably been able to let go of the past fully. It kind of sucked that she'd been captured right after finally getting her life back.

After putting the book back, Sam turned and walked over to the door of the room. _Provided Dean's hangover isn't too bad, we could probably go looking in those caves today…_ The only reason Sam wasn't going to go dashing off to Amber's rescue unprepared was that, in his vision, she'd been alive and more or less unharmed.

Of course, she'd also killed Dean…

Sam was just about out of the room when he felt a stabbing pain in his forehead. He gasped and pressed the heels of his hands to his temples as the vision wracked his body…

_Dean__ was lying on what seemed to be a stone table. His arms and legs were spread-eagled and were tied down with heavy chains, cutting into his skin. He was naked, and Sam could see that there were lacerations all over his chest. Dean's eyes were closed and he seemed to be unconscious. Sam could only just make out the fact that his brother was breathing._

_Footsteps behind him alerted Sam to the presence of another, and he stepped out of the way automatically,__ turning in time to see Amber come through the roughly-hewn stone doorway. He narrowed his eyes, watching as the woman walked past without seeing him and over to the stone table._

_Sam took a few steps forward, but then paused – paralysed with shock – as Amber raised a knife high above her head. Sam leaped forward, but before he could do anything, the woman plunged the blade into his brother's chest._

Sam was all but thrown out of his vision and found himself on his hands and knees, shaking violently. It took him a few moments to realise that Dean was alive and unharmed, and was crouched in front of him, hands resting on his shoulders. "Sam? What is it? Another vision? Are you all right?"

Sam swallowed and reached out for his brother, touching Dean's shoulder and his chest, trying to convince himself that the vision hadn't come true. "Dean…" He choked on a sob.

Dean opened his mouth, but then closed it again, apparently thinking better of what he'd been about to say. "Sammy… Whatever it is, it's not happening now. I'm right here. You need to pull yourself together. These visions are probably one of the only things we have of giving us any idea of what to expect. You know that we're gonna be walking in there blind."

Taking deep breaths, Sam waited until he thought he could speak without completely losing it. "I saw you die."

"I think we already established that," Dean pointed out. "Nothing's going to happen to me. We know what's going to happen, so we know how to stop it."

Sam shook his head and gave a heavy sigh. "It's changed. Amber doesn't shoot you now. You're… tortured and chained to a stone surface. While you're unconscious, Amber comes in and stabs you." Try as he might, Sam couldn't keep the slight tremor out of his voice. _Everyone close to me… they've been hurt or even killed. I _won't_ let that happen to Dean!_

Dean slowly straightened up and extended a hand to his brother to help him up. "Well, forewarned is forearmed. Nothing's going to happen to me, Sammy. I keep telling you that." He smiled at his brother, though there wasn't much humour in it.

Sam took his brother's hand and let Dean pull him to his feet. "Dean… you have to _promise_ me you'll be careful," he said, his tone pleading.

For a moment, Dean looked like he was going to make some kind of smartass remark. Then, he simply nodded. "I promise, Sammy." He lightly squeezed his brother's shoulder and then grinned. "You know, I think I can smell breakfast. Why don't we go get something to eat before we find Amber?"

Find_ her… not look._ Sam shrugged slightly. "I guess." He frowned at Dean. "Aren't you hung over at all?"

"Nope." Dean turned and headed in the direction of the stairs. "So tell me you at least made a move on her," he said over his shoulder.

Sam started to follow his brother, but paused, frowning. "Who?"

"Jody, naturally," Dean replied as he walked down the stairs. He looked back over his shoulder again and raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? You didn't do anything? What am I teaching you, Sammy? She obviously likes you – I could see that after the whole Doctors Crazy and Crazier. You'd be in with a chance there."

"I hardly think Jody's gonna jump at me after I handcuffed her to the bed," Sam muttered, neglecting to mention that she had done pretty much that.

"So just tell her that it was one of your crazy sex kinks."

"What sex kink?" Jody asked as she walked out of the kitchen. She blinked at Dean. "Oh. You're awake. Are you feeling any better from yesterday?"

"Nope," Dean replied. "After breakfast, we're gonna go looking for Amber – before Sammy's vision of her killing me changes again. Speaking of which, what's cooking? It smells good." He ducked round behind Jody and into the kitchen.

Jody watched Dean go into the kitchen and then turned to Sam. "He's not all right… Is he?" she asked slowly.

Sam sighed a little. "I really don't know what's wrong with Dean," he answered, still bothered by the new vision. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Jody, but Dean's right about the vision changing. I need to know everything you do about the caves – we're heading to the beach right after breakfast."

Jody nodded, looking somewhat relieved to finally have something be done about her friend. "Breakfast's ready now, if you want anything. There's bacon and eggs and pancakes… also toast and cereal."

Sam hadn't realised just how hungry he was until Jody described what she'd been cooking. _I suppose it's got to be better than eating breakfast from fast food places._ "Thanks for doing that," he said out loud. "Dean's probably eating already, so I'd better go and have something before it all goes." He stepped round Jody and started to enter the kitchen.

"Um… about last night," Jody said before Sam could get very far.

_Great,_ Sam thought, unable to help a sigh. _I should have known she'd want to apologise for it or something._ He turned back to her with a gentle smile. "Look, it's all right. I know that grief and fear can do strange things to you."

Jody looked down, a slight blush playing around her cheeks. "It wasn't only that," she replied. "I… Well, I _am_ attracted to you. We have to find Amber, but maybe… afterwards…" Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged, not making eye contact with Sam.

Sam hesitated for only a moment. He walked over to Jody and placed his hands on her shoulders. Then, he leaned forward and simply brushed his lips over the top of her head. "Let's just see what happens after we get Amber back, all right?" He slowly removed his hands and then headed into the kitchen, his stomach growling a little as the smell of food intensified.

Jody followed him into the room. "You _do_ realise that I'm going to come with you, right?" she asked, leaning against the wall and watching as the two men dug into the food, acting as though they hadn't seen food in months.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam replied slowly. "It could be quite dangerous."

"Was I in either of the visions where Amber killed?" Jody asked bluntly. When Sam shook his head, she ploughed on. "So maybe my being there will affect how it turns out. Did you think of that?"

"Or it could just change how my brother dies yet again," Sam answered, his voice low.

"We should let her come," Dean commented, a little unexpectedly. When Sam stared at him, he shrugged. "It's not like we've had much luck in leaving people behind before. Might as well have Jody where we can keep an eye on her. Besides…" Dean was cut off as Sam kicked his ankle under the table, and he tipped his head slightly to the side. "Why did you kick me, Sammy?" he asked with feigned surprise.

"Did I kick you?" Sam's eyes were wide; his expression exaggeratedly innocent. "Oops. My foot must have slipped."

Jody leaned over Sam's shoulder to steal a strip of bacon off his plate, ignoring the way he batted at her hand. "So when are we going?"

* * *

She stood silently as the dry wood was piled around the stake she was tied to. Her body was broken and bleeding, but she still stood tall with her head held high. From somewhere deep inside, she seemed to have accessed a kind of inner peace.

No such peace existed inside him as he heard the people around mock the woman and throw accusations at her. It wasn't enough that they had broken her body and were about to kill her; they seemed to have the desire to break her spirit as well.

As one of the townspeople stepped up to the stake, holding a burning torch, she closed her eyes. Her lips moved silently. Some people thought that she was casting a spell, and the chief questioner stepped forward and struck her hard across the mouth, sending her head snapping to the side.

His fists clenched at his sides and he hated himself for just standing by and doing nothing. But, try as he might, he couldn't move forward to stop the terrible injustice.

The man touched the torch to the wood and the fire blazed immediately. It moved both too fast and with an almost agonizing slowness as the flames spread towards her feet. She didn't start screaming until the fire started licking at her ankles. When she did, the screams were filled with terror more than pain.

Each scream tore at his heart and made his blood pound. When the sickening smell of burning flesh hit him in the face, he couldn't handle it anymore and rushed forward, tearing at the ropes, ignoring the small flames that licked at his fingers. Something stronger than physical pain drove him on.

At that moment, everything became confused. The screams turned into a long, continuous wail, and he was grabbed from behind and pulled away from the stake. As he continued to struggle, pain suddenly flared in his chest. As his vision darkened, he looked down to see the blade of a sword impaling him.

When they let him go, the body simply collapsed onto the ground next to the thing on the stake that was no longer recognisable as being a person…

* * *

Amber stared blankly at the ceiling of the cave, not registering anything she could see – which wasn't much. She could hear the others talking, but she didn't care to really _hear_ what they were saying. Her hand ached dully, but her mind was filled with the screams of the damned and scenes of bloodshed.

"Are you sure of this?" one of _them_ was asking. "How do you know we can trust her?"

"I don't trust her," the second male voice replied. "But as it stands right now, she knows that she's been abandoned. The only concern she has is getting revenge for everything that's been done to her."

"I really must advise against this." The third speaker was a woman, and her tone was flat and emotionless. "With the way you've caused her mind to be right now, she's just as likely to turn on us as do what you want. You're holding a tiger by the tail." A cool hand was touched to Amber's forehead as she spoke.

"The difference being, _they_ expect her to be a friend," the second voice replied with a trace of amusement in his tone.

Amber must have blacked out for a few moments. When she came to again, she was alone. Purely instinctively, she started struggling, though not expecting any good to come of it. She only felt mildly surprised as she realised she could move – but the screaming inside her mind was making it difficult to think of anything.

Slowly, Amber pushed herself up, ignoring the dull ache in her injured hand. As she started to feel around, her fingers closed over the hilt of what she realised was a dagger. Slowly, she lifted it, staring at the metal as it glinted in the darkness.

When Amber raised her head again, her eyes reflected flames.


	8. Chapter 8

**Elixir**

**Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural and I'm not making any money from this fic. The characters Amber and Jody - and any other character you don't recognise from the show - probably belong to me. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own. I guess the plot of this story belongs to me

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; a really bad thing happening; original characters; spoilers for the entirety of season one and up to episode eight of season two; hints of torture

**Author's Note:** Once again, apologies for the delay in updating this. I've been working on other things - and my laptop crashed a few weeks ago, leaving me gnashing my teeth in annoyance and frustration. Thank you all for your patience and I promise to try and do better with updating next time. Please enjoy this latest chapter!

* * *

Dean and Sam exchanged glances from the front seats of the Impala, then glanced slowly towards the cave entrance. They then got out of the car and headed round to the trunk. Popping it open, they started getting out various weapons - as many different ones as they could carry.

Jody got out of the car as well and headed round to them. "What can I do?"

"Stay here," Sam told her. "If anyone other than us comes out, make sure you're well-hidden if you can't run away."

Jody shook her head. "I told you - I'm coming with you." She folded her arms and set her jaw stubbornly. "I can help you. And Amber's my friend - I figure _someone_ has to stop you from shooting her."

"We're not gonna kill her." Sam glanced at Dean, who gave a barely perceptible nod. He sighed. "But all right - you can come as well. Make sure you stay close to me and Dean, though." He took a gun out of the trunk and pushed it into Jody's hands. "It's loaded with rock salt - which is useful for repelling spirits."

"If you haven't handled a gun before, just try not to hit either of us with it," Dean put in. "Or Amber," he added, almost as an afterthought.

Sam directed a glare at his brother and then turned back to Jody, handing her a small bottle of water. "And here's some holy water."

"For use against demons?" Jody suggested, putting the bottle into her bag. She then took out a ball of string and held it up. "Thought we might need this to find our way out. You know, like that one legend with the maze and the minotaur?"

Sam nodded. "I know the one you mean." He took the string from Jody. "Now we just have to hope that the flashlights hold out long enough for us to find our way out of the caves." _It'll be pitch black for us in there - and it won't be easy to find the string by touch if the lights _do_ fail._

Jody glanced at her backpack, a suddenly uneasy look on her face. Dean raised his eyebrows. "Second thoughts?"

Shaking her head, Jody opened her mouth to reply - but her words were lost in the sudden roaring in Sam's ears. He gasped and put a hand to his head as the whole world fell away.

"_You just stood there and _watched_ me die!" Amber held a gun on Dean, the light of madness gleaming in her eyes._

_Dean held up his hands, eyeing Amber warily. "I know. It was my fault you died in that other world. But do you really think shooting me will solve anything? You'll still have those memories - and you'll still have to live with them." He took a step closer to her._

_Amber's finger tightened on the trigger. "_Don't_ come any closer," she warned._

_Dean paused, his eyes fixed on Amber's face. "What do you want me to do?"_

"_I want you dead. I hate you, Dean." Her finger pulled the trigger; and Dean's body jerked and fell, blood blossoming over his chest._

"Sam? Sam!"

Sam gradually became aware of the fact that his shoulders were being shaken. He groaned and shook his head a few times, struggling to find his voice. "We're _really_ running out of time," he whispered finally.

"Did you have another vision?" Jody's face was pale.

Sam nodded. "She shot you again," he told Dean. "Look, I... maybe you'd better wait out here. However this plays out, it's pretty clear Amber has serious issues with you."

"I couldn't save her," Dean replied. "It's not surprising she'd have issues. Whatever. I'm not staying behind either." He frowned slightly. "Though I have to say... Why can't your visions be a bit more original? We already know the one where she shoots me."

Jody blinked and glanced uncertainly towards the entrance of the cave and then at the brothers. "So, umm... If no one's staying behind, should we maybe get moving? You know, while there's still daylight."

"Listen to the girl, Sammy." Humming Metallica to himself, Dean headed into the cave, switching his flashlight on as he did so.

Sam sighed, but attempted a reassuring smile at Jody. He didn't try to tell her that everything was going to be all right, though. Right now, it looked like it was going to be either Amber's life - or his brother's...

* * *

Amber held the knife in one hand as she felt her way along the cave wall. All of her fear and anger were gone, leaving behind a deadly calm. And one single, driving purpose.

_I'm going to kill Dean Winchester._

She was doing it for herself, though. Not for the people who had captured and tortured her. Dean had stood there and watched her die - twice now. It wasn't going to happen a third time.

_I'm stronger now._

Amber raised the knife and slowly licked the blade, avoiding the sharp edge. She felt her lips curve in a feral smile as she imagined all the things she was going to do to him. Of course, there was his brother to worry about as well - but she could just kill Sammy-boy quickly, if she had to.

As she heard the sound of voices, Amber paused and slowly turned her head to the side. If she really strained her ears, she could just about make out Dean's voice. She smiled; and her fingers tightened around the hilt of her knife.

Amber peered slowly round the corner - and winced at the too-bright beam of the flashlights. She'd been in the dark for so long that any kind of light hurt her eyes. She started to raise her hand to shield them - and then winced again.

_I forgot. They smashed up my right hand._

Amber stayed behind the corner, listening and waiting for her chance...

* * *

"Dean, I have a _really_ bad feeling about this," Sam said. "I know we can barely see anything here - but I'm pretty sure that this is the place I saw Amber kill you in the first vision."

Dean shrugged, glancing around. "Well... The vision's changed twice since then. And I don't see any sign of Amber. I'm not just gonna walk away, Sam." He turned on his heel. "So are you two coming or not?" he called back over his shoulder.

Sam was just about to follow his brother when Dean suddenly gasped and slumped, then collapsed onto the ground face-first.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, running to his brother's side. He froze as he saw his brother's unmoving form and the blood pooling under it. "DEAN!" He frantically pressed his fingers against Dean's neck, feeling for a pulse which wasn't there. _No... No... Not you as well._ His mind kept chanting _no_ as he reached to turn his brother over. _I just need to bandage the wound - stop the blood flow. And then he'll be fine._

The next thing Sam knew, there was a blinding pain in his head; and he lost consciousness.


End file.
